


Kismet

by Night-Mare (Aoife)



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Author loves to chat in the Comments, Cloudy Mist Sawada Tsunayoshi, Daily Life Arc, Flame Active Character(s), Innuendo, M/M, POV Sawada Tsunayoshi, Suggestive Themes, Sun Romario, Sunny Sky Dino, Unconventional Uses for Dying Will Flames
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-15
Updated: 2017-10-30
Packaged: 2018-10-19 05:28:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 16,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10633191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aoife/pseuds/Night-Mare
Summary: Sealing a child is an untested and untried technique. It has consequences in adults - why did anyone think Sealing a child wouldn't have consequences? Reborn tries a last ditch fix, only for it to backfire.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Hand That Rocks the Cradle Rules the World](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10607250) by [Night-Mare (Aoife)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aoife/pseuds/Night-Mare). 
  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [Aoife_Prompt_Collection_KHR](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/Aoife_Prompt_Collection_KHR) collection. 



> So. My evil enabler was inspired by [The Hand That Rocks The Cradle Rules The World](http://archiveofourown.org/works/10607250), and gifted me the plot bunny that spawned this. (The complete plot bunny can be found in my collection, [here](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/Aoife_Prompt_Collection_KHR/requests).)
> 
> For reference:
> 
> Dino is seventeen or thereabouts - I've de-aged him; Tsuna is thirteen, Hayato and Takeshi fourteen, and Kyoya and Tetsuya fifteen. Romario is somewhere around twenty-three or so.

The house is surrounded by men who are obviously mafioso when he returns from school. They look a bit like the men who had come with tousan and his Boss that one time - that thought makes him blink, and slow down, warily. The way they part for him, and let him into his own home, and his kaasan’s absence don’t help, either.

He scowls when he finds his bedroom full of mafioso, and a large chair - not his normal desk chair - with it's back to the door. It can only be his tutor's fault; if he didn't already have a healthy respect for the not-toddler's propensity for violence, he would throw something like a tantrum at having his space invaded in such a way. His defensiveness over his things has only increased since Reborn's arrival - he's beginning to understand Hibari-san's constant low-level state of irritation.

He's at least somewhat aware that something about his 'Flames' is not as his tutor expected. They're not how he remembers them, either. He's not as drawn to people as he was when he was little, being happier telling himself stories and finding places to hide, but he'd put that down to the bullying at school. It's what had bought Hibari-san to mind - the older student was very tolerant of finding him squished into strange corners, and the urge to find somewhere to hide has been growing since he arrived home.

But his tutor is behind him somehow, and the door to his bedroom shuts as the chair spins round, and he’s staring at an older teen in a parka jacket. He wants to say something, but he’s frozen in place by the other’s eyes. They’re bright orange, the way he remembers tousan’s going occasionally, and he feels his Flames rise almost like Reborn has shot him with that bullet again. Except he hasn’t - and the older boy is still staring at him.

“Tsuna, meet Don Dino Cavallone; Dino, Tsunayoshi Sawada. Dino is my previous student, Tsuna.” His tutor’s voice barely registers; not next to the way the other’s Flames draw him in. They make him hold still when his tutor’s former student - his sempai - reaches for him with a Flame-covered hand. Something shatters when it makes contact, and he stumbles forward, into the older teen’s lap. And _oh_. He melts into him, wrapped up in something like the Flames he remembers from when he was little.

Being wrapped up in Dino's Flames is like finally being warm again. And being home. Don't get him wrong; he loves his kaasan dearly, but even she has taken to calling him Dame, and that cuts deep. It makes the fact that he's curled up on the young Don's lap bearable; makes it possible to ignore that there are other Mafioso surrounding them both, and that there's something pressing into him painfully - and he's not sure whether it's Dino's cock, a gun or the handle of his whip.

He wants more of this feeling; would gladly stay where he is for the rest of the evening, but he knows - intellectually at least - that his tutor won't let him, and he wants all these Mafioso out of his territory before his kaasan comes home. The thought of his kaasan having to deal with all of these heavily armed strangers makes him twitch, and Dino pulls him closer, before murmuring something to the closest of his men, the one that feels a bit like Reborn to the senses Tsuna is just learning to understand. He sighs in relief when sharp orders have most of the men withdrawing, leaving only two to guard Dino.

His tutor takes that as his cue though, and Tsuna finds himself swiping at the toddler without conscious thought when he lands on top of him. That earns him a ten-ton Leon hammer to the head. Dino scowls at his former tutor for it, and one of the two men, the one who feels a bit like Reborn steps forwards and lays a hand softly on his forehead. The hand radiates heat and the pain from the blow quickly fades; the man just as quickly steps back, and Dino thanks him quietly. Reborn sighs and takes a perch on his desk instead.

Dino’s free hand creeps up to pet Tsuna’s hair, reassuringly. “Not that I’m complaining about my cute new Mist, Reborn, but I thought he was suppose to be a Sky?” He whines against Dino’s shoulder, and is - for want of a better word - rewarded with another dose of Sky Flames, laced with the reassurance that Dino wants _him_. The want is a complex multi-layered desire that he doesn’t have the tools to unpick, but it is also entirely non-threatening, and he settles back down again.

“That was what Iemitsu and Timoteo claimed when they sent me here, yes.” He wants to know what his father has to do with Reborn’s presence, and why his tutor is talking to the teen whose lap he’s curled up on and ignoring him entirely. He must have thought that thought far too loudly, because rather than continue to talk to his tutor Dino addresses him, instead.

“It’s Mafia etiquette, little one. Especially with Clouds and Mists; you don’t talk directly to them, unless invited to by their Sky. It saves on emotional and physical trauma.” That gives him something to chew over, while Dino returns to his conversation. “You said he was Sealed when you called me here, but that still doesn’t explain this.” He’s not sure how comfortable he is being talked over, but if it lets him stay put and not have to do more than curl up in his current position he can deal with it.

“Except no one has Sealed an Active Sky as young as Tsuna was at the time. He was five; Timoteo sealed you for that brief period when I first trained you, if you remember, and that made you the youngest Sealed Sky that we had any documentation on.” His tutor’s answer was matter of fact, but the Cavallone man that had stepped forward and helped him after he’d been hit made a growly noise. Dino and his tutor both ignored him.

“And even that six months left my Sky with a distinctively Sunny bent. You think -“ There’s an angry edge to Dino’s words, and anger in his proximity would normally make Tsuna flinch; but this anger is on his behalf and it feels good. It makes his stomach feel all fluttery and he squirms, dragging Dino’s attention back to him, and earning a kiss to the forehead that makes him blush.

“Yes. I do.” Tsuna’s never felt such killing intent from his tutor, but he’s safe, wrapped up in Dino’s Flames. It’s not aimed at him. “And Dino, he’s thirteen. He needs to stay in Japan for the time being; at least until we’ve gotten things straightened out with the Vongola.” The teen beneath him grumbles at that, and the arms around him tighten.

“Tsu-kun, I’m home.” He’d know his kaasan’s presence anywhere, and her presence makes him sit up, abruptly, earning an oof from the Don he’s been curled up in the lap of.

"I should introduce you to kaasan, Dino-kun." With that pronouncement he bounces up out of the lap he's been curled up in and drags the Don out of his chair - and oh, he'd known that Dino was bigger than him, just from the way he'd been encompassed by him, but the Italian was taller than Takeshi! That made the hot feeling in his gut only heat further - it was like the feeling he got around Kyoko, only stronger. Much stronger. And Dino comes with him without fighting the tug - that earns indulgent chuckles from the two men who accompany the Don.

Something about Dino makes his kaasan all fluttery; he hasn't seen her like this since tousan last came home, and she insists that he stays for dinner, and then drags Tsuna into the kitchen to help her. The two of them turn out an amazing feast between them - or rather his kaasan does most of the work, and interrogates him about Dino, complementing Tsuna on being just like kaasan. Which confuses him thoroughly, but he forgets about his confusion entirely when he gets to sit next to Dino for dinner.


	2. Chapter 2

It's weird, having an adult who genuinely cares about him. Dino takes a house nearby, and Reborn encourages him to spend his time there. There's a training room in the basement, and his lessons focus on skills he actually has. The first time that the two of them talk him through creating an illusion, it's glorious. Much better than the Dying Will Bullet and physically fighting. The illusions come as easy as breathing, and being able to watch the stories he normally tells himself - that almost makes the last few weeks worthwhile.

He gets to curl up with Dino after training, too. The older teen is still warmth, and home, and Romario - the one of Dino's men who feels like Reborn - rolls his eyes at the two of them, and ruffles his hair gently. And brings them both treats; always his favourites, and judging by Dino's delight, Dino's too. But Tsuna is beginning to notice that no-one leaves the two of them, him and Dino, alone for any length of time, and it's making him grumpy.

Gokudera and Yamamoto notice the change in venue before too long. And Gokudera at least, when he sees Dino, recognises the Cavallone. He hisses like a cornered cat at the fact that he'd been kept in the dark, and grumbles about all adults being the enemy, but he still follows Tsuna into the house - and it amuses Tsuna when Dino takes one look at the silver-haired bomber and stalks out of the room to make a phone-call. Whoever picks up the other end in loud enough that he hears a "Voooiii," before Dino closes his office door.

Explaining to Gokudera that he isn't a Sky, when he suspects that the promise of him being a Sky is what's made the other stick around is the hardest thing he's done. He and Hayato-kun end up curled around each other on the mats down in the training room. They're both drained by the situation and the discussion - his emotions have come easier since Dino arrived, but that's hard to deal with after years of everything being muted. He loses control of Flames at one point, and Hayato-kun has to use his own Flames to disrupt them; that attracts Dino's attention.

The blond Sky makes Hayato-kun skittish in close quarters. Especially when Tsuna flies to him for a hug when he sticks his nose into the training room, and he hisses like a cornered cat again when Dino presses a kiss to Tsuna's forehead.

"One of your cousins is coming to check on you and make sure you've got everything you need, Hayato." The silver-haired bomber's Flames flare at that, but Dino just sighs. "He's an independent. He's not going to make you go back to them, Hayato."

"I don't have any cousins, though." Tsuna can hear an edge of longing in his new friend's voice. It's one of the things that came out of their talk - how lonely he's been. And Hayato's his now. His territory. But he trusts Dino. He's torn between them, and he makes a grumbly noise into his Sky's Parka jacket. That gets him wrapped in Flames again - which helps him finally get his Mist and Cloud Flames back under control again.

"That silver hair of yours is fairly characteristic of a single Flame Active Family, Hayato. Squalo has it; so I'm not sure what degree of relation you are but, I'm fairly sure. And as he's the defacto Head of the Varia, your father can't order him to do anything." The roiling Storm Flames calm at that, and Tsuna breathes easily, his own Flames calming, too.

It's his decision to drag them both with him to his kaasan's kitchen for dinner. She's happy to see them both, and fusses over Hayato almost as much as she does Dino. His prickly friend doesn't quite understand how to respond to his mother's brand of affection - but he certainly enjoys her cooking. She presses several wrapped boxes of food on both his bomber and his Sky before she'll allow them to leave.

(He doesn't want Hayato-kun or Dino to leave. He prefers his Sky close, still, and something's niggling at his intuition - the intuition that is apparently a blood gift, not a Sky trait, given that he's retained it, according to Reborn - when it comes to Hayato. Perhaps it is more than he's put two and two together and gotten an answer that he doesn't like. The bomber is his own age and is on his own.)

He doesn't sleep that well. He hasn't since - in Reborn's words - he'd bonded to Dino. But his tutor won't let him do the one thing that'll help. Not yet. But he's starting to think that getting to curl up with Hayato or Takeshi might help at least a little bit. Skin hunger. That was the explanation he'd been reaching for. And Hayato's on his own ... he mentions that to his kaasan, who gets a funny expression. He probably should feel guilty about that, but.

He hugs Hayato in the morning anyway. His kaasan had mentioned breakfast always being available for Tsuna's friends, and he'd actually taken her up on it! It felt good hugging him - not as good as hugging Dino, but still good. He hugs Takeshi too, when he and Hayato run into him on the way to school. It makes the baseball player squeak; he also thinks about hugging Hibari-san for all of a handful of seconds. Then he remembers that'll get him bitten to death and decides against the idea.

He drags his two friends up to the school roof for lunchtime anyway and ends up sprawled across them while they eat lunch; Hayato, he notes has a bento full of his kaasan's food for lunch. It looks much nicer than his normal bagged lunches, and makes the Cloudy part of Tsuna's Flame purr to take care of his territory. He also makes illusions for them from his Flames; after all Hayato-kun is Mafia born, and Reborn told Takeshi. It almost distracts them from the bell for the end of lunch, but fear of Hibari-san drives them back to class.

He almost sends an illusion in his place, but he needs more practise before he can hold one for that long, and he suspects that Reborn and Dino would both be disappointed in him.

The next two days are equally as peaceful, and he falls into something like a routine. He cuddles any of his own who'll let him, and even ends up with a Reborn curled up in his arms asleep at one point. That had surprised him until it hadn't; his tutor was attached to him and his Sky, and protected his kaasan - and therefore he was 'his'. School was boring, though his lessons with Dino and Reborn were interesting; Hayato was prickly, though the hugs were helping and Takeshi obsessed with his baseball practice.

The third day was a Sunday, and he was flopped out on a mat in the training room, Hayato exhausted on his right, and Dino making whimpering noises and complaining about the fact he'd thought he was done with Reborn's torture, when there was a crash and a "Voooiii!" from upstairs. Dino just groaned and dragged Tsuna into a hug.

"Your cousin." Is the only explanation the Sky manages to get out before Squalo bounces into the training room, with a comet trail of Cavallone men, all watching the assassin warily. There's a resemblance there; not strong, but it's there in the cheekbones and the eyes and the shockingly silver hair. The two silverettes end up eyeing each other in bemusement.

"Voooiii, Bucking Horse, what the fu-" Tsuna's unburied himself from the coat, and the swordsman materialises a Sword from somewhere in surprise. "Primo?! Dino Cavallone, there's a fucking story here, and I want it now."

"Romario, you can stay. Everyone else, shoo." The comet tail grumbled but complied; Hayato made to follow, but Dino snagged him on the way past. "This concerns you, too, Smokin' Bomb. Go take a perch over there."

"Sawada and the Ninth are fucking morons." Squalo rolled his eyes at Dino's statement.

"Tell me something I didn't know - Xanxus is still on Ice." Dino packed away that comment to pick at later; he had a temperamental Rain to coax onto his side. If he could persuade Squalo his cause was just or profitable, or something, it would make the likelihood of having to face off against Varia assassins looking to 'free' Tsuna from him far smaller.

"They sealed Tsuna's Sky, and left him unmonitored for at least six years. He's not a Sky anymore." The silver-haired swordsman turned and stabbed one of the training dummies with his blade, swearwords spilling from his lips.

"They broke a fucking Sky? What the fuck were they thinking? Scratch that; were they fucking thinking at all?" The swordsman ranted and paced and then turned on Dino abruptly, sword raised accusingly, "and what's your fucking role in this, Bucking Horse?" The pointed sword made Tsuna's nerves twitch and his Flames roil; reality starts to waver.

"Squalo, Tsunayoshi Sawada. My Mist. Tsuna, Superbi Squalo, An old school friend, and the current defacto Head of the Varia. Squalo, calm the fuck down. Tsuna," Dino reached for him, "the only time you need to consider Squalo a threat it's if he's in his full uniform." Tsuna curled into him and let his Sky's Flames calm the Cloud Flames that were agitating his Mist.

"Voooiii, Sawada sealed his own brat-" he blinked, the introduction's form registering. "Your Mist? Ninth is going to have to defrost the fucking Boss now!" He laughed gleefully. "Fucking finally." He rubbed the wrist of the hand holding his sword. Tsuna could feel Dino's Flames reaching out to the swordsman, only for them to be rebuffed and slide off; they pooled around Hayato, who started to look almost drunk. "Fucking idiot horse. I have a Sky. Even if he is on ice at the moment."

Dino held up one hand, the other still wrapped around Tsuna. "I know. I -" he swore and yanked his Flames in so hard that Tsuna whimpered at the abrupt loss. Hayato made a high pitched unhappy sound. "We can finish this discussion later. But I think we need to discuss the official reason for your visit before -" His Sky trailed off, but allowed his Flames out far enough that Tsuna felt warm again.


	3. Chapter 3

Squalo looked side ways at his "cousin" and swore again. "You've gone years without acquiring more than one Guardian, Bucking Horse, and this is how you break that streak? With two former-Skies who are other Don's heirs? Fucking hell, Reborn really has worn off on you."

His Sky looked at the other man, head tilted. "Tsuna used to be a Sky; but Hayato, too?" There was a question in his voice.

Squalo hummed, a mischievous hum that reminded Tsuna of Takeshi when he was contemplating something he could only get away with as the Baseball Star. "Well, given he's got everything but Mist and Sky accessible to him, if he wasn't it was a near run thing."

"I have?" Hayato sounded curious. "I knew about my Storm; found those the hard way, but the rest, too? And I'm _still_ that bastard's heir? I thought he'd have bred another mistress by now." Tsuna unburrowed himself from Dino's coat and wrapped himself around his friend instead. The last sentence and the way Hayato had said it made him feel twitchy. He was keeping the bomber, and Hayato's sperm donor could burn if he tried to take him back.

"Did you _actually_ explain the Varia, to them, Bucking Horse?" Squalo shot a glare at Tsuna's Sky, and his Cloud Flames bristled. "Feeling Flames is a survival Skill, brat. You've got five." He squinted at Tsuna. "Three still. Might be four, but I doubt you're getting the other three back; the scum really fucked you up, kid. Good for me and my Sky, but fucking sucks for you." His Sky smacked the Rain over the head.

"For a Rain, you've got no fucking subtlety at all, Squalo. And no I hadn't explained that you enjoyed killing for a living. Hayato sort of knew, but Tsuna didn't, idiota. Now if you're willing to stand for your cousin, I'd like your permission before I end up accidentally sealing a bond with him." Tsuna wrapped himself around Hayato tightly when he drooped; and glared at his Sky for hurting him.

The older silverette gave a sharp nod. "He'd be better off with you than anyone else I can think of, Dino Cavallone. Just don't get him killed, or I'll gut you." Tsuna's Flames flared at that threat, but with permission granted Dino released his Flames, allowing them to wrap around the two younger teens. Tsuna's Flames quickly calmed, and he felt himself getting giddy. Hayato was still tense, still staring at the two adults.

"I know it's not what you came to Namimori looking for, Hayato, but I need a Storm, and it would let you stay with Tsuna, and keep him grounded. We're compatible, and I'd be glad to have you as one of my Guardians. Are you willing?" He was keeping Hayato _anyway_. Dino couldn’t stop him, but he wanted the warmth of Dino’s Sky Flames for his friend.

Hayato eyed him for another moment, still skeptical, but wavered under Tsuna’s silent pleas, dropping the Storm Flames he’d be using to burn off the blond’s Flames. He made a tiny squeaking noise - that Tsuna suspected he’d deny until the end of time - when the full weight of Dino’s Sky pressed down on him, welcoming him, wrapping him up with Tsuna in warmth and safety and being _wanted_.

"So fucking gentle, Bucking Horse. We wouldn't suit at _all_." He wasn't sure what Squalo meant by that, but he was warm and sleepy, and he could _feel_ Hayato and it was good. Only thing that would make it better would be for Dino to come and nap with them, too.

"Why does everyone forget I trained with Reborn? That's two Cloudy-types I've bonded with Squalo Superbi; I couldn't be weak and do that. Now help me get these two upstairs; they're going to be asleep for hours after that much Sky Flames." Then there were Dino's arms, and even if he was being separated from Hayato, those words promised it wouldn't be for very long. "I'll take you for sushi and we can finish the discussion while they sleep this off."

There was a grumble from the older silverette, and then he was curled up on a big bed with Hayato, and he snuggled back up with him. Something niggled at his intuition about sushi and a swordsman, but he was so tired that it slipped from his grasp, and he fell asleep.

"Voooiii! Tell me first before taking me near a master swordsman, you idiot fucking horse." The door slamming shook the house, waking Tsuna up from his nap.

"And if you hadn't spent quite so much time trying to kill every other master swordsman on the _planet_ , he wouldn't have recognised you and tried for a pre-emptive strike." That was his Sky home again! He bounced up in the bed, partially waking a groggy Hayato. "I certainly didn't blame him, and at least he was Flame Active so I could calm the situation down, Squalo."

There was more indistinct grumbling. "You did get an offer to spar from him." That was followed by more grumbling. "Oh, for fuck sake, Squalo. Just because you're -" whatever his Sky was about to say was cut off by a loud crash. But as it wasn't accompanied by any killing intent, Tsuna flopped back down on the bed, and was promptly cuddled again by Hayato, who went straight back to sleep.

They should probably both get up and go downstairs, but the bed was far too comfy and Hayato was too warm.

“Voooiii. Come back here you idiot fucking horse.” Was accompanied by a another crash and Romario’s voice directing the two of them down to the training room in the basement. “Take that back, I am not fucking _sublimating_.” A third crash was followed by the slamming of the door that sealed off the training room, and abrupt silence.

Romario stuck his head around the door a few minutes later, before Tsuna could fall asleep again, with a tray of snacks. He had an amused expression on his face, and Tsuna held a finger to his lips and indicated Hayato’s still sleeping form. Romario just nodded.

“Does one of your classmate’s families run Takesushi?” was asked in a barely audible whisper. Tsuna could only face palm as he put two and two together and added his intuition’s flare to the total and came up with an answer he wasn’t sure he appreciated. Sushi plus the name equaled Takeshi's family's restaurant; what had Dino and Squalo _done_? He nodded and Romario winced. "The Boss has paid for the damage to be repaired." Takeshi's father was a master swordsman. The things one learned. "There was also a teenager who tried to attack them both; he was shouting 'kamikorosu' who was left rather flame drunk." The Italian pronounced the unfamiliar Japanese word carefully.

"Hiiieee. Hibari-san!" His squeak woke Hayato, much to the Storm's annoyance. "Dino-kun knocked out _Hibari-san_! I'm so dead tomorrow!" He attempted to burrow under Hayato and threw up an instinctive illusion of more blankets over the pair of them. He had to pinch out the stick of dynamite that Hayato had lit in response to his squeak, but the illusion and Hayato helped him get his breathing back under control again. He really didn't want to go to school tomorrow!


	4. Chapter 4

Reborn makes him. Or rather, Reborn _guilts_ him into going, having changed tactics since he bonded to Dino. Hayato sticks close to him, and that helps; having Dino present would help _more_ , but that would also guarantee that Hibari-san would attack them both. This way he might slide past the prefect under an illusion, and survive the day.

Except that there's something _wrong_ with his illusions. It confuses him. Everyone - Takeshi, Kyoko, even that strange Haru girl - still recognise him on the way to school. By the time he arrives at the school gates, he's so nervous that he has Hayato fingering his dynamite beside him, and if he'd learned the trick that Squalo had described for him the previous night - that he was going to learn as soon as _possible_ \- he'd have already gone home.

Hibari-san isn't lying in wait for him, and he breathes a sigh of relief.

His doom comes for him in the middle of class. Luckily for him; the class is Nezu-sensei's and he'd rather deal with Hibari and his violence over Nezu and his humiliation - especially because the humiliation was making it _really_ hard to keep his Flames entirely under control. He'd rather have to explain Flames to Hibari-san than to his entire class; not that his intuition said he'd have to _explain_. Whether that meant he'd keep them under control when Hibari-san was biting him to death, or Hibari-san already _knew_ , he wasn't entirely sure.

He doesn't get bitten to death at _all_. Instead Hibari drags him into the Reception Room that the Discipline Committee use as their office, and then prods him into sitting down on the couch. He uses his lap as a pillow and walks him through the best uses for the more purple part of his Flames, demonstrating the uses for him. Hayato was allowed to come too, but he had to sit across the room, and Kuskabe frisked him for dynamite first. And he would have got walloped by Hibari-san except Hibari-san had lifted his tonfa and Tsuna had flinched and the prefect had changed his mind.

He still keeps expecting to be bitten to death though. Until Kyoya sighs at his fourth flinch. And ruffles his hair again.

"I won't bite you to death, little animal. But your Sky and the loud Rain he was at Takesushi with, are fair game, understood?" It's the most words he's heard from the prefect in a single sentence and it makes his Cloud Flames rage. Except that the other Cloud just taps him on the forehead lightly and they fade away again. "And do that again and I will rescind that promise.” His eyes flick to Hayato, wondering why he hadn't moved, hadn't responded to that threat to their Shared Sky, only to find that Kuskabe had his friend wreathed in green fire and looking very "still".

"Hibari-san!" His voice carried a complaint. Which was rather daring of him, but he could feel the way Hayato was fighting whatever it was the other prefect was doing to hm and panicking, and he was genuinely worried about him. "Hibari-san, stop it, please. His sister used to paralyse him with poison and can't you _feel_ what it's doing to him?"

"Hn." At the sound from Hibari, Kuskabe releases the Flames, and he wraps himself around Hayato so fast it's like he teleported between the two couches. His fellow Guardian is shaking and he can feel his Mist Flames surging and surging until his eyes are hazy with dark Purple fires and then everything crashes down, down, down.

Dino shakes him awake. He's not in the Disciplinary Committee's Office anymore; instead he's sprawled on his Sky's bed and _everything_ hurts. But he's safe. And his Sky is safe, and Hayato is safe. And he can feel Romario is in the house, and he just snuggles into his Sky. "Was scared. Safe now.“ He falls asleep again, listening to his Sky on the phone talking to Squalo about another Mist, and negotiating with them to visit and teach him; apparently he’d appeared on top of his Sky with a panicking Hayato in a cloud of Mist Flames.

He wakes up again with his Sky wrapped around him asleep; there's something poking him, but he ignores it. Hayato is tucked in, in front of him, and Reborn isn't anywhere in sight. He's warm and he's safe and he's staying put thank you very much. All his muscles ache and he feels like Reborn hit him with one of the Dying Will bullets - even though he knows he didn't.

The rest of the morning comes back to him and he groans and buries his head in Hayato's hair; which surprisingly doesn't smell of the bomber's cigarette habit. At least his intuition had figured out the trick Squalo had been talking about? He could take silver linings where he found them. Now all he needed to do was figure out how to do that consciously rather than just when Hibari-san scared him. And he can do that here, where his Sky is within reach and his Flames are there to sooth the ache that he assumes comes from over use of his own Flames.

It's warm and comfy, and he's not moving, thank you very much. Not until someone makes him. And even then, there better be snacks, or better yet, hamburger steak. Some sort of suitable bribe or offering, because he's content to stay put, otherwise. His Cloud Flames are rather dominant right now, but unlike Hibari-san, his people are acceptable to crowd with. He dozes back off again.

His Sky is gone when he wakes back up again, though there is a tray of snacks next to the bed, and it's early evening. Hayato is still asleep, worn out from his attempt to fight Kuskabe's mean trick and Tsuna makes plans to prank the prefect. (Even though he suspects the older teen learned the trick to deal with _Hibari-san_ , that doesn't make it okay to use on _Hayato_.) But that can wait - even if he really should warn his Sky that Hibari-san and his senior minion are both Flame Users and that Hibari-san wants a _fight_ , there's all his favourite snacks and Hayato-kun needs to eat too.

Which is the only reason he peels himself away from his fellow Guardian. And Romario really is a mother-hen; there's all his and Hayato's favourite snacks here - and evidence that Dino has had his too. He should hug the older man for that. He coaxes Hayato awake; the other is grumpy, but chocolate helps with that, as does the promise of getting their revenge on Kuskabe. Even if he does have to talk the Storm out of anything likely to be deadly - Kuskabe is Hibari-san's minder, and does he really want to deal with a rampaging Hibari-san? It's thoughts like that from Hayato that remind him that the other teen is a hitman.

Tray of snacks finished off, he leaves the still floppy Hayato to read in bed, and carries the tray downstairs to the kitchen; he's not surprised to find Romario in there, and surprising Dino-kun's senior Guardian, and a man who is obviously a mafioso from the way he dresses and moves probably isn't the smartest idea he's had this week, but he pounces and hugs him _anyway_. Romario doesn't even twitch; and shortly after he pounces, there's warm Sun Flames seeping into his system, soothing the aching muscles and a hand ruffling his hair.


	5. Chapter 5

The Mist his Sky called for is like Reborn. And has a blonde with a crown in tow. He's not sure whether to be amused, or to try and make use of his new trick in case the Mist is as much of a Spartan as Reborn is. Reborn glares at them when they enter the room they're in though, and stalks out, muttering something about the fact that he should have guessed that was where they were hiding.

The little Mist is a harsh tutor, but not in the same way Reborn is. He owes them 1000 yen by the end of the morning, but he's also learned so much - and when Dino hears the amount, he only laughs and pulls a bundle of notes out of his pocket, and peels 10,000 yens worth off the roll. "You've impressed them, Tsuna. I was expecting that to be a lot worse. Mammon's notorious, but they're also the best Mist of their generation."

He's exhausted; using his Flames is tiring. Not as bad as the aftermath of Reborn hitting him with one of the Dying Will bullets, but close. His Sky sighs and gestures for him to curl up beside him; he does and basks in his Flames like his Sky is a sun lamp. There's an amused chuckle and then his Sky's Flames feel more like Romario's and the muscle aches subside. "Should I be telling them to go easier on you, Tsuna?"

He sits bolt upright at that. "No! I need to be stronger!" the words spill from his mouth and he's not entirely sure where they're coming from, only that they're true. That he needs to be stronger, faster, able to use his Flames before something happens or it'd be bad. Reborn's head snapped up at that from where he'd been reading in the corner.

"Tsunayoshi, what -" he curls back into his Sky's side, burying himself inside the older teen's ever present Parka jacket. Reborn cuts himself off, aware of the harshness of his voice, and that scaring a Mist wasn't as constructive as scaring a Sky could be. "Tsu-kun, why do you need to be stronger?"

"Someone's coming. Someone's coming and they want to take me away from Dino-kun, and I won't let them!." His Cloud Flames spill from him, uncontrolled, saturating the house and making it his territory. He's terrified though, shaking and curled into his Sky's side. Dino ruffles his hair and pulls him into his lap properly.

"Not letting you go, Tsuna. You're mine. Shhhhhh." He's wrapped up in a blanket of Sky Flames, and mostly tucked under his Sky's jacket, and the shaking subsides.

"Shishishishishi, what's wrong with the little Mist, Bucking Horse?" The speaker is the Storm who had accompanied his new tutor; the teen is about the same age as him and Hayato in years, but feels much older. Which makes sense given the explanation of the Varia he'd received.

"He kept the intuition despite the Seal breaking his Sky, Prince Belphegor. And apparently something is coming." The answer comes from Reborn; his Sky is still shushing him gently, and petting him to calm him down. The Storm giggles again and he can hear the snick as the teen pulls out a knife to play with.

"Shishishishishi. The Prince will go on patrol; the Prince was bored and wanted someone to play with. A threat to Mammon's new student is a worthy target for the Prince." The other's laugh is unnerving, and makes Tsuna shiver; he's fairly sure the teen is insane, that his leash is the thin bond he still retains to his frozen Sky, and that his new tutor is using to influence him.

"We need evidence. No killing without definitive identification of the victim, Prince Belphegor." His tutor's light voice pipes up from behind his book and makes the unstable and volatile Storm scowl and mutter about being Quality.

Tsuna falls asleep at that point again, leant against his Sky while his Sky works his way through a number of technical reports from his under-bosses who were running things in his absence. He's been sleeping a lot recently, but part of it is  the active use of his Flames, and some of it is just being comfortable.

He wakes up again when the front door slams and his Sky's Flames flare protectively - the Varia Storm is giggling disturbingly and licking one of his knives clean, but he's also quite obviously badly bruised. "Shishishishishi, why did no one tell the Prince that there was a Cloud to play with! The Prince likes playing with Clouds."

Tsuna ends up groaning again. Even if Hibari-san has been nice to him prior to the teleporting incident, he wasn't sure the older teen would be too happy about his territory being invaded by more carnivores. Especially ones who came _ _looking_ _for fights with him. Except. Except Hibari-san always looked almost cheerful after a good fight - maybe fighting with Belphegor-sama would keep him amused? One could hope.

"Did you leave the nice Cloud alive, Bel?" His new tutor's voice carries a trace of their amusement; the little Mist floating down the stairs from the second floor.

"Shishishishishi, the Prince wants to play with him some more, so the Prince was good. He was Flame Active, so the Prince got plenty of blood but the Cloud was able to walk away. The Prince isn't stupid." And from the looks of the Storm, Hibari-san had got some good licks in.

"Good. Tsunayoshi, we have more training to do before I return to Italy." The little Mist continued to float towards the training room in the basement. He peeled himself away from his Sky and followed his Flame tutor.

Mammon drives him to exhaustion again, but he's starting to get conscious control of his new ability to teleport, and he's starting to figure out how illusions work for him. Apparently, it is very different for each Mist, and he needs to find what works for him - and how he can make his illusions real. He does get to fall asleep on top of his Sky again when he stumbles back upstairs from the training room and that helps with the resulting aches and pains; and his Sky hand feeds him dinner before he falls asleep again.

Hibari-san is almost manic when Tsuna arrives at school the next morning and has a series of fine cuts covering his hands and arms and face. He is pacing back and forward, watching the entrance to Nami-chuu, with his tonfas drawn, obviously waiting for someone. He squeaks and covers himself in Mist again instinctively, and huddles into Hayato's side trying to slide beneath the older teen's notice.


	6. Chapter 6

The Cloud lets him slide past, lets him have his illusion of safety, but that doesn't stop him trying to hide for the rest of the day. Hayato-kun lets him, sliding into the spaces he opens, and 'being' the delinquent he normally portrays. It's almost as if having an actual bond to a Sky has given his friend permission to be even more ridiculous about protecting him. Which, actually, if he thought about it, made sense. From the things that had been mentioned around him, and the way Dino was behaving towards him, the Mafia considered Guardians to be an extension of a Sky, and his to support and protect. Hayato didn't _need_ good school results; what he needed - or wanted, Tsuna wasn't sure - was to protect him.

Which was kind of a heavy thing to bear. It made him want to dissolve into his Flame, and run and and hide; Hayato was risking himself for him, and he didn't really understand why. Especially since all he needed to do to stay safe was to not come to school, and spend more time around his Sky! Which was where he _wanted_ to be.

At lunchtime, he curled up on the roof with his fellow Guardian, a low grade Mist illusion covering the door to the space to distract other people, and accepted the cuddling as his due - in fact. Hayato laughed when he gave himself a pair of fluffy cat ears hidden in among his hair, and scritched them. "Better, Tsuna?" He could only nod.

He found himself purring at the attention, much to Hayato's amusement. But their peaceful lunch was interrupted by someone muscling their way past the low-grade illusion he'd used to hide them, and he had to fight the urge to disappear with Hayato - but then he realised who it was, and that Takeshi hadn't come looking for them, he'd come looking for privacy. And ouch; the way the other teen felt -

Hayato rolled his eyes at him when he used his Mist to whisper his plan to him, but joined him in pouncing on the Rain who felt so very unsettled - in fact - "Tsuna, take us to Dino. He needs a S-" the implied permission in the first part of the sentence, and the way Takeshi was so cold, so lonely, he was transporting them both before Hayato had finished the sentence. They landed with a fwomp on his Sky's king-sized bed again, on top of his bruised and sleepy looking Dino.

There was a startled flare of Sky Flames that made him purr and snuggle into his Sky; but it was answered with flaring Rain Flames, so cold, so deep, so lonely that it made him shiver, and he reached out and pulled Takeshi down. Takeshi was _his_ , and he hurt, and he made an illusion go and fetch Romario. Scared, hurting Rain needed Sky snuggles and a Sun!

"Tsuna, sweetheart, aren't you suppose to be at school?" His Sky sounds sleepy and concerned. He supposes he is meant to be at school, but leaving Takeshi at school would have been cruel - much better to bring him to his Sky, who needed a Rain, too. Even if he did keep pulling Squalo-nii's pig tails, his Sky had admitted the older Rain already had a Sky.

"Take-kun needed help, Dino-kun, so I brought him to where there was help." His Sky sighed, but ruffled his hair and petted his Flames. Romario walked in then, preventing him from snuggling closer to his Sky. "Romario-san," he was still trying to work out how to deal with his Sky's senior Guardian; the man was another few years older than his Sky, and much more the mafioso than Dino-kun, "could you help Take-kun, please? There's something wrong with his arm."

"Romario or Romario-kun, please Tsuna. No need for the -san." The older man stepped further into the room, an amused smile on his face. "And please try to stay at school, kiddo. At least until we've gotten Iemitsu's permission to withdraw you; tussling with the Young Lion is not on my list of enjoyable things to do. Now; Takeshi, was it? Is your father Tsuyoshi?" Takeshi nodded, still cradling his sore arm. "The idiot you're sitting on is our Sky, and the one partially responsible for your father's black eye and the damage to Takesushi - the other culprit is downstairs." Dino whined indignantly at Romario's introduction. "Ignore him, he decided to spar with Squalo this morning. Now; Tsuna here said you had a hurt arm. May I take a look?"

Romario doesn't reach for the arm, but waits for Takeshi to cautiously hold it out. "Dino's your Sky, Tsu-kun?" He pops his head up, recognising that Takeshi was trying to distract himself, letting Romario wrap hands with warm yellow Flames dancing over them around the swollen wrist.

"Yup!" He popped the 'p'. "And don't worry about the arm. Romario is _really_ good at this. Dino-kun gives him lots of practise!" He was baiting his Sky just a little bit and was rewarded with Dino tickling him. "Hiiiieeee! Dino!!!" He squirmed round and tried to tickle back - but the older teen had over a foot of height and thirty pounds of weight on him, so Tsuna found himself pinned by his Sky, one hand holding his wrists and the other tickling him.

"Take that back, Tsuna." His Sky's voice and Flames were amused, so he just stuck out his tongue. "Don't tempt me, sweetheart." The words were purred and he was fairly sure he wanted to know what his Sky meant, but they need to deal with Takeshi and the way he felt so cold and so lonely. He was meant to be cheerful and laid back!

"Fine." he pouted just a little bit, which earned him another petting of his Flames. "But, Dino-kun, can _you_ help Takeshi, _please_?" He has the feeling that if he'd stayed a Sky that Takeshi would have been one of his, like Hayato, and he remembered playing with him when he was little, before the Seal made him all clumsy, and he couldn't help with that hollow place in Takeshi's Flames, but maybe Dino could?

"Not without his father's permission, sweetheart. Even for you I had Reborn's permission first, albeit to do whatever I could to help, not explicitly to take you as a Guardian." His Sky eyed him, and sighed, brushing his Flames again Takeshi's and watching him melt. "But I'll talk to him. You're going to have to come, too, and help me explain; Tsuyoshi's Flame Active, remember." Tsuna swallowed, kind of scared of Tsuyoshi after what had been happening, but he wanted Takeshi cheerful again so he'd have to do it, wouldn't he?


	7. Chapter 7

As it turned out, they didn't have to go to Tsuyoshi. Someone had reported Takeshi missing after lunch, and then had noticed that Tsuna and Hayato were also gone and reported their absence to Hibari-san. It's Tsuna who notices their approach first, the Cloudy-portion of his Flames still pervading the house and it's grounds, and making him twitch when two more Flame Actives step into it unexpectedly.

He meeps, which attracts the attention of the rest of the room; Hayato is the one closest to him, and he tries to melt into the Storm's side, making his Sky sigh. "Tsuna, sweetheart?"

"Hibari-san and Takeshi-otousan. Here!" He squeaked, and went back to trying to hide inside Hayato's clothes with him. "We're going to get _bitten to death_."

"Tsuna, sweetheart, stop trying to climb into Hayato's clothes, and come and help me fix the problem you found." Dino's lips twitched into a smile, and he pouted at his teasing Sky. "There's a hug in it for you," the attempt to bribe him was rather blatant, but he couldn't resist pleasing his Sky. He let go of Hayato-kun reluctantly. "Hayato, could you keep an eye on Takeshi for us, please? He's still sleeping off the healing, and I don't want to leave him alone." The silver-haired boy nodded in answer. "Tsuna, sweetheart - is Squalo still in the house?"

He tilted his head and 'felt' his territory. "Mammon-sama is here, asleep, but Bel-nii and Squalo-nii are both ... out of my territory." He tested the word out, and then nodded firmly. It was the _right_ word. "Romario is about to answer the door."

"Then we should head downstairs. C'mon you." He's tugged up from his position next to Hayato-kun, and there's a kiss brushed across his lips by his Sky which makes him blush and grin, and follow Dino _much_ more willingly. He's still kind of intoxicated by the older teen and wants another kiss and to be pressed close to him again.

Hibari-san and Yamamoto-san are eyeing each other suspiciously by the time they get downstairs, half a step from flaring their Flames at each other. He's not actually sure which of them would win if they went all out. Not with the sword that is strapped across Yamamoto-san's back; it's making the Mist portion of his own Flames roil, and the tight control the man wields over his own Flames. Hibari-san is stronger, but is still learning how to wield them effectively.

His Sky smiles genially at the two of them, and allows his Harmony to seep into the room just enough to keep the two of them from going after each other - or him - but not enough to subvert their wills. Not really. He curls into Dino's side when he takes a seat on the sofa.

"Sora-sama." Takeshi's father, who really does look a lot like him is the first one to speak, and there is a wary respect in his voice; he knows that the man has met his Sky before, and knows Dino's name, but that sounds like more tradition, that form of address; Hibari-san is vibrating in his seat, but doesn't break in, doesn't threaten to bite anyone present to death, and he watches him from where he's curled in to Dino's side.

"Yamamoto-san." His Sky took a breath. "I wish to negotiate for your son to stand as my Rain." The Rain's Flames surge, and his Sky's rise to answer them, as do his own; Yamamoto's father is even stronger than he'd expected.

"Where is he?" There's a undertone of killing intent in the older man's voice; it's all Tsuna can do to stop his Flames flaring in defence of his Sky.

"Upstairs, sleeping off being healed by my Sun, with my Storm monitoring, Yamamoto-san. My Mist - Tsu-kun here - brought him to me after he broke his wrist during baseball practise, and then scared him with how despondent he was." The man's control slipped, and it was like being caught in a monsoon's rain until he brought himself back under control. If that was any indication of what Takeshi could be - he shivered.

"He was so tired and so cold and so lonely, Yamamoto-sama. I -" he swallowed, not sure he wanted to reveal what had been done to him to the older man, "I was Sealed by my father and the Vongola, Yamamoto-sama, and I think I - I remember playing with Takeshi, and I think -" he stumbled over his words. "I couldn't help him. Not enough. Not with how my father Sealing me broke my Sky, and I think that broke him. I brought him to Dino to stop him doing something Stupid." He burrowed back into Dino's side. "I nearly didn't notice in time."

Dino petted him soothingly. "Your son is suffering from a broken bond with _his_ chosen Sky. Yamamoto-san. Tsu-kun was just trying to make things right; will you let me help him?” The Rain eyes him, and Tsuna holds his breath for a very long moment.

"I need to talk to him, Dino Cavallone," he can feel his Sky relax as the man addresses him by name, rather than title, "but, if he consents, then you may have my boy as your Rain." He wants to cheer, but the man is not quite done. "If you get him killed, I will kill you. Understood?" In that moment, he envies Takeshi and Hayato both for the fact they'd both had people who cared _enough_ about him to threaten his Sky. Not that he'd let them kill his Sky, but.

"Can you take him up to Takeshi and Hayato, Tsu-kun? Hibari-san and I need to talk." He straightens up from where he'd been pressed into his Sky's side, and eyes Hibari-san warily, but nods and forces himself to his feet. "If you follow my Mist, Yamamoto-san, he'll take you to your son." The Rain follows him from the room, and he tries very hard to ignore the way the Flames rise and rise and rise behind him. He's _almost_ tempted to wish that Belphegor-sama was in the house to distract the prefect, but he concentrates on leading Takeshi's father up the stairs without tripping over his own feet.

He ends up showing Takeshi's father to the room where Hayato is still curled around his sleeping - and fortunately fully dressed - son, and stays _just_ long enough to be sure that the man won't be a threat to Hayato-kun, or Takeshi-kun. It's not quite quickly enough - not when there's a crash from downstairs and "Sorry Yamamoto-san!" he dissolves into Mist and concentrates on his Sky; they're not very far apart, which means he's almost immediately back in the room with Dino and Hibari-san.

The two of them are going at each other hammer and tongs - or rather, whip and tonfas - and he _wants_ to step between the two of them - and his Flames start to react, only to be smothered by his Sky's and he pouts, and takes a seat, watching the two of them fight.

His Sky definitely has the upper hand; extra height and weight, but the prefect is slight and fast and even he can see that he's _very_ well trained, and every time he thinks that Dino has him pinned, that the Cloud might surrender, the prefect manages to squirm out of it, and he wants to help, but ... he grins and keeps his Flames very, very calm but pulls out a strand of his Mist, and starts to shape it. Mammon-sama uses tentacles; why shouldn't he?

It takes him a lot of concentration. Almost too much; since his Sky and the Cloud are going all out, he occasionally has to sway out of the way of a weapon, or a surge of Flames, and Romario-kun is going to be annoyed with all of them when he realises they've been fighting outside of the training room, and that thought is the final one that spurs him into figuring out what he was trying to get his Flames to _do_.

Two fluffy tentacle-tails, the same colour as his hair, lash out and loop round both older teens' ankles and he hoists them into the air and celebrates right up to the moment he realises both of them are glaring at him.

"Hiiieee! Dino-kun, Hibari-san, Romario-kun said no fighting _upstairs_!" The Cloud _pouted_ , and his Sky twitched, and then there was one of his Flame hugs wrapping him up tight in it.

"Thank you, sweetheart." He releases his Sky carefully, and is swept him to a physical hug too. "He's right, Kyoya. It is a house rule. We should either move this to the training room, or make truce?"

"Hn." Is the only sound the Cloud makes, but he knows him well enough already to understand it as a rather petulant-for-Hibari "Fine." And releases the Cloud, waiting for him to lunge at his Sky again, just in case, but he doesn't. He's left wondering - and he's not sure why, or that he likes the realisation - who his Dino will negotiate with for Hibari-san, and if, like Hayato-kun and Takeshi-kun, he had been supposed to be _his_ Cloud?


	8. Chapter 8

He burrows deeper into the hug at that thought. The idea of Hibari-san as his responsibility was kind of terrifying; he had no idea how Kuskabe kept him from killing half the student population when he was in a bad mood, but the Cloud was just staring at _his_ Sky appreciatively, and that made him feel at least a little jealous. But the moment was broken by the sound of feet on the stairs again, Takeshi and Tsuyoshi, led by Hayato; the two teens looked sleepy, and a little mussed, and the adult Rain worried.

"Cavallone-sama?" There was quite a lot bundled up in the question, and he felt his Sky take a moment to gather the answers, but the first part was the simplest.

"Negotiations with a Cloud, Yamamoto-san. My father and my tutor both warned me, I will admit, but I wasn't expecting negotiations to be sprung on me today." The Rain snorted a laugh.

"I'm not sure whether it is a kindness then to warn you that Hibari-san's mother is also a Cloud, Cavallone." His Sky face-palmed and the Cloud in question just made his own amused sound, and he flared his own Flames possessively, feeling territorial about his Sky. Tsuyoshi's eyes widened. "Anyone would think you were seeking out those with Cloud-secondaries as your elements; whilst my Takeshi has Rain as his Primary, there is both a Mist and Cloud Secondary waiting to be woken." Takeshi laughs at that, sliding past his father and circling round to try and tug him away from his Sky, and he goes, sliding into his arms, and nuzzling against Takeshi's now slightly warmer Rain Flames. "You have my consent, and his too, Dino."

Dino's Flames expand, swirling, filling the room almost to overflowing; there's an appreciative 'wao' from Hibari-san and Takeshi's clinging to him, arms tight, and wallowing in them alongside him. Hayato's sat on the stairs, and there's an appreciative, rumbling purr coming from his general direction. "Takeshi?" The Rain pulls him even closer, until his nose is buried in the Rain's shoulder, and he can feel the Cloudiness of the stirring Flames, the possessiveness focused on him. There's a nose buried in his hair, and he almost wishes for his own Sky Flames back, to be able to give Takeshi what he wants, but he would also miss having his own Sky dreadfully too; but he feels the baseball player relax as the cold place that had been hurting him so badly fills with the heat of a Sky, strong enough to balance him.

"Keep you safe Tsu-kun. Promise I'll keep you safe." The words are murmured into his hair, but there's another amused snort from the older boy's father.

"When you come home tonight, I think it's time I taught you to wield Shigure Kintoki, Takeshi-kun. You'll need it." The warm breath against his scalp is abruptly gone; something about that offer has the Rain wrapped around him almost vibrating with the urgent desire for the weapon Tsuyoshi just mentioned. He wonders what is so special about the sword for it have the sometimes apathetic Rain so very eager, but he settles for dragging Takeshi and Hayato through into the kitchen to find something to eat, leaving Hibari-san, his Sky, and Tsuyoshi to finish their conversation.

Romario is waiting for them; the Sun is deeply entrenched in his Sky's Flames and perfectly happy to use the bond ruthlessly to manage his Sky and the other Elements sheltering within his Sky's embrace; it's the only explanation he has for why the man always has exactly the right things to hand.

"So. Shigure Kintoki, 'Keshi?" Romario hands the others their snacks, but then surprises him leaning in and kissing him, a gently butterfly kiss before letting him have his. He brushes his fingers over his lips, startled at how right that had felt. Almost as right as when Dino had done so; and he swallowed at the images that suddenly swamped him.

Hayato and Takeshi's mouths had both snapped shut at the blush on the younger teen's face; but Takeshi shook himself out of his daze. "He's hard to explain; but he's the family's weapon for our sword-style."

"He?" He pops one of the strawberries into his mouth, and swallows as he realises all three of his fellow Elements eyes had followed it's path. Especially when drop of the berry juice escaped briefly and his tongue darted out to capture it, and there was another blush on his cheeks at the interest in him.

Takeshi's hands waved in frustration at his struggle to explain evident. "I'll introduce you to him. He -" he'd popped another strawberry into his mouth, and he should stop doing that if he wanted the other's to make sense, but they were _delicious_. He ate two more then pushed the punnet away regretfully, allowing the other three to manage to regain something like equilibrium. He wanted to kiss Dino more before any of the others, and Hayato _definitely_ looked ready to pounce on him, and he wasn't ready for that; not until he'd learnt how this worked from his Sky.

"He's complicated. And old, and Pops keeps him away from me most of the time. But he's _mine_." The possessiveness was a little startling, and he could feel why Tsuyoshi had warned about his Secondaries; the Rain was at least as territorial as Hayato was about the things he fixated on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you'd like to read the E-Rated scene with Dino and Kyoya in the basement, it's [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/10922745/chapters/24802095).


	9. Chapter 9

He relaxes in stages as there's no overwhelming crashes, no panicked Flame flares; just the feeling through the bond of his Sky having far too much fun fighting the prickly Cloud who had decided to invade the house to ask why they had fled _his_ school. There was an edge of something other than just 'enjoyable fight' and his cheeks flushed as he considered what else the two older teens could be doing in the training room.

"Are you okay, Tsuna?" He shook his head, dispelling the mental images that had flooded his mind, and turned back to the conversation with Takeshi and Hayato - and Romario, who chimed in occasionally - about the state of the Flame Underworld. They all knew about different parts of it, and some of the things that had been starting to make sense slid together into more cohesive wholes with the added snippets of information. Like that Bel and Mammon's Sky was the Ninth's youngest son - who hadn't been seen for years, but as his Guardians were all okay, was definitely still alive.

They stayed in the kitchen chatting for a good half an hour before Romario shooed them out; he had plans, and he didn't trust Hayato not to have a touch of his sister's nature around food, yet. (He had seen some of the things that Hayato thought were food; he agreed with their Sun!), and the three of them ended up sprawled on the couches in the living room. Takeshi had one of the sofas all to himself, but Hayato had planted his head in his lap and refused to move, much to his amusement.

By the time Dino and Hibari-san reemerged, they were all giggling at one of Takeshi's stories, and all the Flames in the house were feeling remarkably _mellow_ ; he hadn't expected his Sky and the Cloud to bond yet though, and he made a face - no one was quite sure how old the prickly prefect was; had he negotiated for himself? His distraction with that thought was long enough for Hibari to cross from the basement stairs to beside him.

"Good choice, little animal." The hand ruffling his hair and the calm, relaxed nature of Hibari-san's Flames made him glance quizzically at his Sky, who just pulled a face and mouthed 'Clouds' at him as if it explained the pleased, and sated presence that had joined them within his Dino's Flames, and turned to talk to Romario. Hibari-san picked him up bodily and sat him in his laps, and when Hayato-kun growled at him for stealing his pillow, there was a deeper growl back and he rolled his eyes and enjoyed the petting, and tried to ignore the fact that the Cloud's clothes were a Mist construct. He wasn't sure he wanted to know. Yet. "He doesn't need to panic about Kaasan; she and Ojisan are going to want to go to war with whoever Sealed you, Tsunayoshi, and will understand why I aligned myself with him."

He relaxed and was rewarded with what sounded suspiciously like a purr from the older Cloud, and Hayato being allowed to resume his position leant against him. "Why would they go to war for _me_ , Hibari-san?" He mumbled the question, not understanding why two adults - he assumed Flame Active, given Hibari-san's state - would wage war for him.

"I remember the breadth of your Sky before the gaijin Sealed you, Tsunayoshi; when you were fully grown, you would have been All Encompassing, and if Skies are rare - they broke that, and they mustn't be allowed to break others." That was the most words he'd ever heard from the prefect, and they'd been spoken with his nose buried in his hair; he squirmed around, dislodging a now even grumpier Hayato-kun, wondering why he was hurting so badly, despite having taken Dino-kun as his Sky, but he didn't ask, instead just hugged the Cloud tightly, and buried his head in his shoulder.

The moment was broken by Dino; he stuck his head back into the living room, and made an amused noise at the sight, before his Flames grew serious again. "Kyoya, just how bad a beating _should_ I be expecting from your mother?" Reborn made his own amused sound from the hammock he'd been watching them all from.

"It isn't his _mother_ you should be worried about baka-Dino. He's _Fon's_ nephew;" there's a sigh, "I really have infected you with my taste for chaos, haven't I?" He squirms on Kyoya's lap, and the Cloud pinches his hip gently in warning - not that he needed, not with the hardness forming under him. "It's going to be such fun to watch the panic when you introduce your new Guardians to the wider Alliance; they're going to wonder where you found so many Clouds and Mists."

"I'm doomed, aren't I." He's half tempted to go and snuggle his Sky, who seems genuinely concerned about what their tutor just said, but his current seat wasn't inclined to let him up, judging by the arms that were now locked around his waist, and the hardness rubbing against him every time he shifted his weight.

"Kaasan and Ojisan will just want an opportunity to bite the idiot gaijin to death, Cavallone." Kyoya's head dropped back into his hair. "Stop wriggling, little animal, or I will not be responsible for my actions; our Sky is waiting for your birthday, and I agree." Was murmured in his ear. "I can wait another week; the anticipation will do us all good. Now go, hug our Sky; you're getting far too tempting, little animal."

"As I said, this is going to be highly amusing to watch, baka-Dino. I should probably give you the lessons Timoteo had prepared for Tsuna; he might decide to name you the Alliance's regent and see if any of Tsuna's children end up a Sky. I doubt Xanxus is a viable candidate even if he gets defrosted the way Squalo wants; his Flames don't 'taste' of the Ninth's as they should -" Reborn shook his head, "-I digress. We'll see what happens." His tutor - and Dino's again, apparently - settled back into the hammock and proceeded to fall asleep before any of them could ask him what he meant by what he'd just said.

He'd managed to work his way under his Sky's ridiculous jacket while the toddler had been speaking and he found himself purring himself at the hug he was rewarded with. And amused when he peeked at the still predatory feeling Cloud to find that the older boy had pulled Hayato into his lap, and his friend was torn between bemusement at being cuddled by a Cloud - Clouds weren't suppose to be cuddly, apparently - and something that he was still trying to identify, that pinked his cheeks and had Hayato squirming. "Kyoya, behave, _please_."

The Cloud made a "Hn" noise, and didn't release Hayato; his Sky sighed. "Come with me to visit his mother, Tsuna? This'll go quicker if she sees the damage for herself, and that way we can escape, if it looks like we're getting bitten to death by her. I've already had today's biting, thank you very much." There was a squeak from the direction of the sofa; and from what he could feel of the Flames in the room, Takeshi had joined the two on the couch, and his cheeks flushed at the thought of why.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the E-rated shenanigans in the living room - [Hayato/Kyoya/Takeshi](http://archiveofourown.org/works/10922745/chapters/25691835).


	10. Chapter 10

They take one of Dino's sports-cars. His Sky's cheeks are flushed, and his Flames twitchy for the whole ride, and he's not entirely sure why; it's both distracting and a little bit distressing. He can't seem to soothe them, though babbling about the latest Manga he's been reading and his training with Mammon-sama _seems_ to help a little bit; his Sky's cheeks have at least lost their flush. Though when they both climb out of the car - in front of a ridiculously large and _very_ traditional Japanese house - and he hugs his Dino, the older blonde is definitely aroused. And smells just a bit musky? He thinks that's the right word. It makes him think of what Dino and Kyoya _might_ have been doing in the training room in the basement; he _really_ needs to get someone to explain sex to him. Needs the details to make the things his imagination attempts to conjure _real_.

Neither thing stops him from burying his head in his Sky's coat, before straightening up and pulling up his Flames, wrapping them around him in the fashion Mammon-sama has been teaching him. They’d insisted that it was a necessary form for negotiating and the tiny Mist had drilled him in this _ruthlessly_ , hammered the need to present himself _clearly_ to strange Flame Users as a Mist or a Cloud, to not leave them in doubt.. "How do I look Dino-kun?" He knows how he _should_ look. The Mist Flames make his eyes darken, amber sliding towards mahogany, and sparks of indigo dance in his hair, making it even fluffier.

"Tempting." Dino’s voice was low, slightly throaty, and made heat pool in his gut. That hadn’t been the answer he was expecting and he can feel his cheeks burn now, too, matching that heat in his gut. "Look at me Tsu-kun?" He manages to meet his Sky's eyes, and they're alight too, a rime of orange fire around the iris. Then there's a large, whip-calloused hand cupping his jaw. "Look like _my_ Mist, Tsu-kun." The kiss that follows is more intense than _any_ his Sky has pressed on him so far. There's a swipe of his Sky's tongue, and he squeaks, and it takes the opportunity to dip into his mouth, tangle with his tongue, and the heat swells, tries to drag him under. Then the kiss is broken and another brushed against his forehead. His Flames spark, purple joining the indigo, and his Sky's grin makes something in his gut twist. "Mine, Tsu-kun. All mine. Not going to let _anyone_ take you away." That soothed his Flames a little, but he still worried; his intuition still wary, still warning him of threats circling.

There's a discreet cough from behind them; they both whirl round, separating, and there's no mistaking the adult and the child framed in the doorway as anyone _other_ than Kyoya's relatives. Dino released him hurriedly, dipping his head in acknowledgement. "Fon-sama, and -" His Sky's voice stutters; he realises it's because _neither_ of them know what Kyoya's mother's name _is_.

"Hibari Mei-Lin, young Sky. My sister." Fon's lips quirked into a grin. "Come to confess to your sins?" Dino's fingers tightened around his, and he felt his Sky's unease, despite the lightness of the Storm Arcobaleno’s voice; he wondered what the faux-toddler was picking up.

"Not quite, Fon-sama." Dino squeezed his fingers again, grateful that he’d taken the initiative.

Hibari Mei-Lin allowed her brother to hop up onto her shoulder. "What _has_ my son done _now_?" The woman's voice was low, a little throaty, and his eyes widened as he realised that there was a thread of Mist woven through it, demanding that the listener comply with the speaker's instructions, and his Cloud and Mist Flames roared to life, flared outwards, lashing out, breaking it's attempt to wrap around both him and his Sky, and _her_ lips curved into a smile. "Apologies little Mist. Perhaps I should let you speak. I was under the impression that your father had abandoned a Latent Sky in my town."

Dino's head snapped up, but the woman continued. "I was planning to encourage Kyoya to bring you home for training when he was ready for a Sky. Perhaps you’d have both been ready as early as next week, when you turned fourteen; but given how primitive my ridiculously Cloudy son is capable of being, I would probably have tried to nsist he waited; you’re tiny, and I wouldn't have wanted him to damage you when he decided he was keeping you, you protested, and he made his claim _clear_."

"He wasn't Latent, Hibari-san. He was _Sealed_." Both Fon and Mei-Lin froze as his Sky interjected. He'd burrowed himself back under Dino's parka, mind full of the images Mei-Lin had just planted in his head. Kyoya-san pinning him to the school roof and biting him rather literally; Kyoya smelling aroused the way Dino currently did, Kyoya's hard arousal pressing against him, Kyoya kissing him the way Dino had, and doing _other_ things. His mind stuttered, not having enough information to allow that train of thought to continue. And there were Flames flaring in response as the two adults processed what had been said. Dino's Sky responded, smothering it before anything disintegrated, or reality started to warp.

"He enters my town again, and I will _bite that Kami forsaken idiot to death_." He blinked. Kyoya had learnt that phrase from his _mother_ and the woman teetered on the edge of Rage, Cloud Flames beating against his Sky’s Flames and he fed his own Cloud to Dino-kun’s to bolster him when he started to waver. Fon said something, something he didn’t catch, and Hibari Mei-Lin controlled her breathing, reeling her Flames in by force of Will.

“I will talk to Reborn, Dino Cavallone. Go, comfort your Mist; he’s teetering on his own edge.” He was, he realised, his pulse racing, the use of his Flames sliding out of his control, the stress of two strong Flame Users’ Rage beating at his still new Mist senses making his mind _hurt_. "Mei-Lin will put together a pack for Kyoya; you'll not get my Cloudy nephew to leave now your Mist has been chosen as his territory." Mei-Lin slipped back into the house, and Dino wrapped an arm around him, comfortingly. "I'll bring it with me when I come to talk to Reborn." And then Fon was gone too, and he was shivering with the come down from riding his Flames, even curled into his Sky’s side, under the fluffy parka Dino insisted on wearing.

"Shh, Tsu-kun. Shh." There was a hand under his chin, tilting his head up, and then there were Dino's lips searingly hot against his, a swipe of tongue and then his mouth was being plundered by his Sky, and he stopped shivering, body hot and heavy and _liquid_. He needed but he didn't know for what; could only cling to his Dino-kun. He wanted more, could feel his Sky wanting more, too, but Dino was the one who broke the kiss. "Far too tempting," his Sky pressed a kiss to his forehead. "One more week, Tsu-kun. One more week." He swallowed. "Car, Tsu-kun. Before I do something we'll _both_ regret."


	11. Chapter 11

Reborn was waiting for them, when they returned to Dino’s sprawling house. He suspected that there had been a touch of intimidation and a fair amount of money that had changed hands in acquiring the property, but given what Reborn had already told him about Skies - before he’d called in Dino and gotten the unequivocal _proof_ of the loss of his own Sky Flame - he wasn’t surprised that Dino’s instincts had driven him to excess. His diminutive tutor was sat, facing the door, obviously waiting for them, his Flames spreading almost possessively from the tiny Sun. It made him want to growl at the toddler, and did make him flare his Cloud, reclaiming Dino’s home as _his_ territory. The toddler eyed them both, and then make a beckoning gesture. "You still have homework to do, Tsu-kun. Baka-Dino, go take one of the others upstairs with you." The second part of his tutor's instruction had a faint edge of mischief to it. "Hayato, I think; I should make sure Takeshi's finished his homework, too."

"Reborn," his Sky growled, and their tutor reshaped Leon into a small green pistol, the type that he used for Dying Will Bullets, and loaded one of the small orange bullets theatrically. "Fine, I’m going, going.” He watched as his Dino scooped up Hayato from where he was flopped on the floor of the front room watching TV with Takeshi. The silver-haired Storm _appeared_ dressed, but there was a Misty haze if he concentrated and he swallowed; wanted to follow, wanted to watch to find out what had that predatory edge to Dino's flames feeling so _hungry_ ; he’d had that edge in the car, and he’d not been able to soothe it and he _wanted_ to. His Sky stopped on the stairs, Hayato over his shoulder, hanging almost limp, “Fon will be along later. He wants to discuss _things_.”

"Tsu-kun," His attention snapped back to his tutor, "go and find your homework; neither you nor Takeshi have been given permission to withdraw from school yet."

"Reborn -" Takeshi was still sprawled on the floor in the living area, still watching the baseball match he’d found on the ridiculous cable package Dino had.

"Not until you get your father to withdraw you from school Takeshi." There was a grumble from the Rain, and he dug around in his school bag, pulling out the pile of papers while Takeshi continued a silent argument with his tutor. The Rain lost, but it took longer than he'd expected. "You're only a baby hitman, Takeshi Yamamoto. You're a hundred years too early to take me on." The homework was _impossible_ \- right up until the point where Takeshi tugged him into his lap. Reborn went to say something, but paused, and when he relaxed and managed to answer the next three questions correctly, his tutor just rolled his eyes and carried on with the exercise. "At least I know how to get the best out of you for paperwork now, Tsu-kun.” They worked silently through the rest of the sheets, and it felt good to actually be able to answer all the questions. Reborn picked the sheets up, and raised an eyebrow at something, but merely tucked the sheets out of the way, spread a cloth on the table and laid two Berettas on the table. “Now that's done, though, we're going to start on firearms safety; both of you will need to be able to at least _use_ a handgun before baka-Dino takes you home to Italy."

Dino stumbled back down the stairs almost an hour later, barefoot and only wearing a pair of jeans; his back was scratched, and he was almost sleep walking. He and Takeshi had M9s in pieces on the table in front of them. His Sky's Flames felt far less hungry. "'Keshi," he hissed; Dino's appearance had had 'Keshi's cock hardening beneath him, and he was trying _very_ hard to concentrate on this. He _wanted_ to be one of Dino's Guardians, wanted to be able to defend him, and the ridge rubbing against his rear was making it throb.

"Maa, maa Tsuna. I can't help it. I can guess _exactly_ why our Sky feels so pleased with himself." He blushed, cheeks hot, and Takeshi rocked his hips beneath him, rubbing his cock between his butt cheeks. "Perhaps I should go upstairs myself. See how much of a mess Dino-san has made of Hayato."

"Takeshi Yamamoto, no molesting Tsu-kun until he's fourteen, or I'll have to beat some sense into you." Leon had shifted again, had assumed the form of a comically oversized mallet. "If you're feeling like a horn dog still, go upstairs and _do_ something about it." His tutor paused. "On second thought, go ask Romario to work with you in the range in the basement; Hayato needs some sleep."

"Maa, maa," 'Keshi's hips bucked up, grinding against him again, making his rear throb more insistently and he desperately wanted _something_. But he didn't know quite what he wanted.

"Downstairs, _now_ , Takeshi Yamamoto." He barely heard the rest of his tutor's words, 'Keshi's large hands lifting him from his lap. He missed the warmth almost immediately. The Rain grumbled and complained, but complied with his tutor's instructions, first fetching Romario, who he heard laugh, and then following the senior Guardian down into the basement. He wondered if there were more guns down there, or if Takeshi would have to come back up for his. "Come here, baka-Dino. I discovered something interesting about your little Mist, and I want to test whether it works even better with his Sky." Dino slid onto the bench seat next to him, contemplating the weapons' pieces in front of him, watched him fumble an attempt to put it together. That made his heat cheek in embarrassment.

"Tsu-kun, slide into baka-Dino's lap, and _then_ try putting the Beretta together again." He swallowed but followed his tutor's instructions, settling into Dino's lap, one of his Sky's arms wrapped around his waist. His hands flowed through the patterns, fitting the pieces together as easily as breathing. "Interesting Tsu-kun. We'll have to see whether being in physical contact with the other Guardians has the same effect." The amused glee of their tutor - for he had declared that he would be teaching _both_ of them - was a bad sign he decided. The way Dino twitched, the lack of the Sky's physical response to having him in his lap - feeling the other teens' cocks harden beneath his butt when he was in their laps something he was already getting used to - told him his guess was almost certainly correct. "And amusing. Baka-Dino here gets _very_ clumsy when out of sight of his men -" the faux toddler tapped his lip thoughtfully.

Dino froze, and he could feel the way his Sky wanted to lash out at Reborn - which he knew was a phenomenally bad idea - though he wasn't sure what was the cause, what about that last sentence had raised Dino’s ire so fast, so viciously that the older teen was about to override several years of conditioning. Making a snap second decision he scrambled off his Sky's lap and towed him away from Reborn, twisting the Mist and Cloud Flames he'd laid over the house until the Sun couldn't follow them, his chosen refuge, Dino’s office shuffled sideways and into illusory space. Dino dropped into his chair when they were in the Sky's office, and wrapped his arms around his waist and tugged him into his lap. "Thank you, sweetheart. But we're both going to pay for that stunt. Reborn gets _mean_ when his fun's taken away." Dino buried his head in his hair. "Wish I could send him away, but he's _contracted_ to teach you." The odd emphasis on the word 'contracted' set his brain working. Something that Mammon-sama had said - he snagged a piece of paper, scribbled a question on it and used his Mist to burn it up, to send it to his other tutor. He was getting more and more annoyed with his father and his father's 'employer', and if the tutor that they had sent thought being mean was _appropriate_ \- he had enough of that at school, and Dino was _his_ territory. His. And his territory needed to be _safe_.

Ten minutes later, another piece of paper replaced the one that he'd burnt, in a sparkle of indigo Flames. Belphegor's elegant script covering it. All three of the Varia Officers had returned to Italy, called back to deal with an emergency, and he had to concentrate to read the handwriting, his Italian not quite good enough to cope. "May I, Tsu-kun?" He adores that his Dino _asks_ , rather than assumes; no one had asked him _anything_ for _years_ before his Sky came. He nodded, and angled the paper so his Sky could read it properly.

“You’ve obviously amused them, sweetheart. Bel’s promised to send a distraction for Reborn, and Mammon’s footnote includes detailed instructions on a real illusion that -” his Sky lifted the note and squinted at it, “- oh that’s _cruel_. It’s how to neutralise _all_ caffeine within two foot of the victim. With notes on how to vary what’s being neutralised.” Dino’s Flames flare in amusement. “Mammon’s trying to corrupt you, Tsu-kun. And is definitely impressed; that’s one of their favourite assassination techniques they’ve just shared. Even if it is a non-lethal variation.”

“Mammon-sama was annoyed when they left. I just offered to help if I could, and ship them strawberries if i couldn’t.” He curls back up in his Sky’s lap, head tucked beneath his Dino’s chin. Dino dropped the note, and went back to petting him.

“Need to discuss your birthday, Tsu-kun.” He’s reassured; his Sky’s body has gone loose and easy again, the ridge he was growing familiar with forming beneath his butt. “Want your input on how we celebrate, sweetheart, and what you need to know to not panic.” His own cock swelled at the implication his Sky was ready to explain some of what had been going over his head, something inside his rear throbbing insistently. “Hayato _very_ much enjoys being on the bottom; he’s agreed to play demonstration model for you.” The way his friend, his Storm had looked when Dino had scooped him up earlier, made him shiver, made the throbbing more insistent, and he allowed the words to wash over him, filling in some - but not all - of the missing pieces. Including why Dino had been waiting, and he grumbled mentally at Reborn and decided he would try Mammon’s illusion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The E-rated scene between [Dino and Hayato](http://archiveofourown.org/works/10922745/chapters/26277786).
> 
> The E-rated scene between [Romario and Takeshi](http://archiveofourown.org/works/10922745/chapters/26447220).
> 
> For the E-rated continuance of the office scene - [Party Discussions](http://archiveofourown.org/works/10922745/chapters/26276256)


	12. Chapter 12

Reborn's revenge is waiting for him when he comes down for breakfast two days later. Or it is possible that the second Arcobaleno is Belphegor's promised distraction for his tutor. It's hard to tell, given that the two of them are bickering when he comes down the stairs, but the way his Sky's Flames get more than a little bit skittish, when they see who is sat next to their tutor has his Cloud Flames flaring and spreading through his claimed territory. Hibari-san's Cloudy presence in the house - still in Dino's bed if he had his location right, and barely conscious - didn't bother him, but the second faux toddler next to Reborn made his head hurt in a way that Mammon _hadn't_ , and made him want to force her to leave.

"Lal, Sawada Tsunayoshi. Tsu-kun, Commander Lal Mirch, formerly of COMBUSIN, and currently of the CEDEF. She's the one who actually does all the work your father is _supposed_ to do." He wouldn't have known the faux toddler was female if Reborn hadn't said something, and he wasn't sure why she'd been introduced that way, but Dino - behind him - hissed at the mention of the one Sky who might _try_ and take him away from him. "She's also the only person I'm aware of whose Flames have broken in the same way as yours. Though she was a Rain, originally." That has him more interested in the new Arcobaleno, but his Sky hauls him close with his non-dominant arm, his whip held loose and ready in his other hand. "Stand down, baka-Dino. She's here as an Arcobaleno, not as Iemitsu's representative. She's not going to try and interfere between you and your _underage_ Mist; she even brought him a bonding gift." His Sky bit off a snarl, and wrapped him tightly in his Flames, but did put his whip away. Something about the way Reborn said underage made it rub wrong, but Dino's Flames had him warm and fuzzy, and his birthday was only a few more days away. Though why had Reborn called it a bonding gift, not a birthday gift?

The other faux toddler had an expression on her face like she thought Reborn was playing an elaborate practical joke on her while the Sun was talking. She had a pacifier round her throat, like he did, but it was clear with dark squiggles in it, rather than yellow. "I'm going to _kill_ the Idiot. Even if the Ninth sets the Varia on me for it." Her eyes bleed dark blue and purple with her Flames, and her fingers caress her shotgun like she’d like to use it on his father. He wonders where her companion animal is, or if they're a shapeshifter, like Leon, and _IS_ the shotgun? "And, speaking of the Varia, Reborn, the Ninth and Iemitsu having been discussing necessary precautions for releasing Xanxus. Finally. And the Idiot is raging as a result, insisting that it's his Tuna-fishie who'll inherit."

She had to be Belphegor's promised distraction, because the look on their tutor’s face was _priceless_ ; he looked like someone had hit him with a wet fish. And it had to be a _very_ rare expression given his Sky's glee at it.

"Xanxus?" He mouths the name; it's not one that Reborn had mentioned to him.

It's Dino that answers him, arm still around his waist, there was the familiar feeling of his Sky's arousal pressed against his back, and he wanted nothing more than for it to be his birthday _already_. "The Vongola Ninth's youngest son. He's Squalo, Mammon, and Belphegor's Sky. He led a coup against the Ninth seven years ago, not long after you would have been Sealed, Tsu-kun - Squalo's always insisted that there were solid reasons for it, and his and the others' survival suggests he's right."

"Why did the Ninth send Reborn to me, then, Dino, if he still _has_ an heir?" He twists in his Sky's arms and hides his head in Dino's coat, seeking comfort.

"I'm not sure, sweetheart." He tilts his head up and Dino kisses him, gently, tangling their tongues together. He wants more, but he knows he can't have it. Not yet. He hasn't even managed to really get his Sky alone since they'd discussed his birthday; the others insist on playing chaperone, even when they themselves were limping. He makes a small needy sound in his throat when his Sky breaks their kiss. "But it doesn't matter, Tsu-kun. You're _mine_ now. He can't take you away from me." Dino nips at his bottom lip, and he opens his mouth for his Sky again.

"Stop molesting your baby Mist; you have work to do, baka-Dino." Hands slide into his hair, and he's kissed again, even more deeply, and then Dino lets him go, reluctantly. "We'll be covering some of the intricacies of the Alliance treaties, baka-Dino. Tsu-kun, you're with Lal for the morning. Her Flames broke in a similar way to yours and has some mitigation strategies and tricks to teach you."

He spends the morning down in the basement training room with the other Arcobaleno. She starts the morning _very_ abrupt, though she eases up on him as they train; given the things she mentions about his 'father', it's probably because he's proving to be his own person. And Reborn’s wrong. They haven’t broken in the same way, and he’s very, very grateful for that; her Flames actively _hurt_ her, and he aches for her.

"Your 'father' is a pig, Tsuna." The comment takes him by surprise. "He's even made passes at me; admittedly it was after he found my pre-curse file, but _still_." He winces. His talks with Dino about what was going on had given him one side of this, but given his mother's fluttering worshipfulness of his father, hearing him denounced for being the worst sort of Sky still hurts.

"But Dino explained the etiquette of this to me - how can _he_ not get it?" There was no Harmony without consent. Reluctance sent ripples of dissonance through a Sky’s Flames.

"I don't know. I'm beginning to suspect that there's something very _wrong_ with his mind." Lal's fingers stroked over her shotgun, and then shook her head. "Back to what we were working on, Tsu-kun." She hurts so much, though, that he pulls her into his lap, and when she doesn’t resist, pulls on the warmth that represents _Dino_. She shivers and relaxes as he mimics it with his Mist and radiates it at her. "You are going to _thoroughly_ confuse the old Dons, Tsuna. And watching the Ninth and the Idiot have apoplexy over the results of their idiocy - if you'd been just a little bit more Cloudy, the Ninth would have loved to give you to Xanxus, Tsuna; you'd have soothed his temper _beautifully_ \- is going to be _very_ entertaining."

He squeaks, and his Flames flare and twitch enough that Dino sticks his head around the door. "Are you okay, Tsu-kun?"

"He's fine, Cavallone. I just suggested that if the two of you hadn't bonded, that the Ninth would have encouraged him to bond to Xanxus." The idea of belonging to the Sky who was _home_ to Squalo and Mammon and Bel was kind of scary. He liked the three of them well enough, but. He was fairly sure he could kill to defend his Sky, but killing other people for money didn't _feel_ right.

"Not unless the Ninth or his Mist was going to force the bond, Commander. He's not an assassin." Dino put his thoughts into words. "It's _possible_ that Takeshi could fit into Xanxus's set, but Xanxus has always favoured the ruthless and the ambitious, so even he would have to bend to fit; look at the way Squalo wants to be the _best_ swordsman in the world." Lal looks at his Sky like she's trying to figure out what's going on inside Dino's head. “If he didn’t have a Sun, Reborn would fit with Xanxus.”

"You can 'see' that?" His Sky looks sheepish for a moment.

"Most Skies have a bloodline gift of some sort. I see how people fit together. Iemitsu's too narcissistic to bond; he'd need people who worshipped him. The Ninth was political; Enrico only had a Cloud - he needed people who saw _him_ , not the Vongola heir. Aria needs people who can forgive her her mother's sins. And from Grandfather's journals, the Eighth wanted Guardians to wage war with. Which didn't make sense to him until _after_ Mussolini started the purge." Lal looks at him sharply, as if she wanted to ask about another Sky, and then shook her head.

"baka-Dino, get back here." His Sky eyes flare orange, and he turns, ducking.

And there's a bullet embedded in the wall, and his Sky is gone, his complaint trailing off into inaudibility. "Reborn, I'm a Don and a _Sky_. My Guardians' welfare is more important than... "

"Back to what we were discussing, Tsuna. Territories. Both Clouds and Mists use the word, and we mostly mean the same thing by them. The main difference is in how easy we find it to 'change' our territories. A Cloud will have a few territories that they're _very_ fixated on and will defend to the death - or until their Sky _forces_ them to relinquish it. And they _will_ sulk when made to release a territory.” That doesn’t ‘feel’ quite right to him, but he’ll save his questions for later. “A Mist claims a territory as need dictates; mostly so that we can do something, and once we've done it, we give up the territory." She pauses, and he feels her trying to spread her Flames out around her. His own Flames respond, and smother the attempt. "Tsuna, I need to be able to use my Flames to demonstrate."

"My territory." She laughed, and turns in his lap and pats his cheek.

"You're a very _Cloudy_ Mist, aren't you, Tsuna? Watching the Ninth trying to figure out how to handle you will be _fun_. I promise that what I’m about to do isn’t going to hurt your Sky, and I suspect you'll like the applications of this trick." He tucks his Flames back inside his skin. It feels uncomfortable, but the Arcobaleno in his lap beams at him. "Good. Now. Feel what I'm doing," her Flames spread through the basement. He has to fight the temptation to disrupt them; it confuses him - he _knows_ he could disrupt them, that he's a more powerful Flame User than she is - but she's an _Arcobaleno_. The inside of the training room shifts slightly, " - within our territory, reality is as we wish." A cat forms next to him, and rubs its head against him, and then a parade of other creatures appeared and disappeared, and other things shifted, and changed, until finally she finished by colouring their hair; hers is black, and he's blonde for some reason. Her eyes are the same orange that Dino-kun's go when he's using his Flames, and the tattoo on her face has changed. He can feel traces of her Flames around his own eyes, and the result leaves her rather startled. "I think you should go and check what's going on upstairs, Tsu-kun." Her Flames feel amused and he tiptoes up the stairs, wondering whether she's pranking Reborn, or Dino with his altered appearance. Not that it matters.

Reborn attempts to shoot them both when they emerge from the basement, but Dino throws up a wall of Sky Flames before he squeaks in surprise at them. "The idea of Daniela as the Sky Arcobaleno is _terrifying_ , Lal.” Watching Reborn shiver is amusing, and he’s going to have to keep trying to prank the man. “And you're going to have _great_ fun with that illusion in Italy, Tsu-kun." Leon shifts back to his base form, and scurries back up onto his tutor’s hat as he speaks.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Collection] E-Rated Scenes and Fragments of AUs from "Kismet"](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10922745) by [Night-Mare (Aoife)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aoife/pseuds/Night-Mare)




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